“Basically, Nighthawk decides — for reasons that will become clear over the course of the series — to get involved in the genocide that’s currently going on in Darfur. And when I say ‘get involved,’ I don’t mean help add to the genocide, I mean put a stop to it once and for all. The United States Government doesn’t take too kindly to Nighthawk’s activities, so they send Hyperion to Darfur to stop him. Super-heroic smackdowning ensues…

“Now, I could have set the action in a fictional country, say, Shmafur. But, for my money, that would have pulled a lot of the teeth out of the story. The genocide we’re depicting becomes that much more palatable if it’s buried under a layer of fictionalization. I firmly believe that the story is far more compelling if it’s set in Darfur as opposed to, say, Shmafur. And I really have to give Marvel a lot — a lot — of credit for letting me use the real locations. It was never even a question with them, and I was very pleasantly surprised — and impressed — to see that.”

Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk